Morning Coffee And Sweet Surprises (Closed to Poprockz)

[Drobabes]

"Cora look at me!"

Her eyes were full of tears once more, but she managed to meet his own as he demanded her attention, momentarily snapping her out of it.

"You're not strong enough to carry him. I love you."

What was he doing?!

"N-No!" she wailed, her hand reaching out just a second too late, the tips of her fingers barely being able to feel his warmth before he was gone.

...he was gone.

They were both gone.
_________________________________

Delvin jumped at that scream, his eyes turning back towards the house, then meeting Sabastian's. It didn't take him very long to react as well, following just a foot behind until they were all back in the yard.

He was breathing hard when they came to a stop near the two women, and he looked down at Bowie and Cora, and then to the other women who he could only assume was the other victim they had been talking about.

Jesus, they were both covered in bruises. It was an odd thing for his brain to point out so distinctly, but, the brain took in very strange details while it was in a state of panic and shock.

"Cora what happened?! Where's Damien?!"

She couldn't answer him. It was as if she was in a state of shock, or, no. It looked almost like she were on the brink of just collapsing to the ground. And little did Vin know, but he couldn't have been more on the money. In her mind, there was nothing but white noise and one single thought-if she lost them now, that was it. She was done. Ray could do whatever he wanted to her after this because she would already be gone.

Seeing as he couldn't get an answer from her, Delvin turned his attention to Sayori.

"Are they in that building?" he asked, panic making his voice harsher than he meant it to be as he pointed his finger towards the flames.
_______________________________

Quint had been leaning back against the wall, almost enjoying the high he was getting from whatever Jonathon had put into his veins. He felt light as a feather, and the lights on the roof were for once not blinding, but beautiful and sparkling like diamonds.

A while later, however, the parade of dancing lights began to turn to flickers of orange and yellow, his wonderful high soon turning into one hell of a bad trip as the smell of the smoke hit his nose. The flames dripped from the sky like thick droplets of demonic sperm, seeming to melt the very ground beneath them. He didn't have anywhere to go, but he still half crawled, half ran to the farthest wall and put his back against it, all but curling up into a fetal position as his instinctual fear of those deadly flames began to numb out any intelligible thought process in his mind.

...

By the time that Damien found him, he was reduced to a sobbing, sniveling, and shaking mess. Even if he hadn't been doped out of his mind, he likely still wouldn't have been able to move from his spot on the wall, the heat of the flames and the smoke filling his lungs just paralyzing him. At first, it was if he hadn't even realized that anyone was there, his body not budging the slightest under Damien's hands as he tried to move him. But, after a moment...

"Come on, Cora needs you."

He didn't say anything, and he couldn't bring himself to look up, but one of his hands slowly loosens it's iron grip from around his legs where he was hugging them to his chest. With trembling fingers, he reaches out into the air until he finds Damien's hand, and then he grips it tightly.

 

[Poprockz]

"Are they in that building?"

Sayori blinked her teary eyes and turned to him, jarred by that harsh tone but not recognizing him at first. Her mind was a bit fuzzy from the panic of what might be happening to Quint right now, so it took her a moment to recognize that he was the man from the pictures, the one Sabastian loved. Speaking of, Sabastian was spied next to him bending over and placing his hands on his knees, panting as he too looked at Sayori and waited for her answer.

"Quint is in there. Damien... he went to go get him." Her tone was soft, almost as though she was miles away.

"What?!" Sabastian turned wide-eyed toward the shed, the sight of the flames making him instinctively flinch. Even if Damien was able to reach him, Quint was just as combustible as the next zombie, there was no way he could get him out without having him burst into flames from a rogue spark. The fact that both Quint and Damien were likely going to die in that shed hit him like a train, a lump forming in his throat as a shaky hand went up to cover his mouth. "Fuck..."

-----------------------------------------------------

He breathed a tense sigh of relief as Quint took his hand, glad that he wasn't going to have to waste time struggling with her brother in order to get him out. The other man looked completely out of it, his pupils wide and his body trembling. He imagined that Cora's brother was suffering from the fear of being surrounded by flames and he certainly couldn't fault him for that. Quint would find himself suddenly pulled forward, scooped up, set down on top of the blanket, and wrapped up in it like it was a sack of potatoes, the man throwing it over his shoulder with a grunt; hopefully it would keep Quint from catching fire. The coolness of the cloth on his back felt nice, though he had no time to focus on such things.

Now all there was left was to try to escape, though he imagined the shed was going to come down on them at any time now. He hoped beyond hope that Bowie would continue to restrain Cora from trying to come down into the flames, knowing that if it was hopeless for them, it would be hopeless for her too. It wasn't easy carrying a full-grown man on his back, but the fact that he was in a sack against him helped a bit, his legs getting a bit of a workout as he started to ascend those stairs. The smoke was burning in his lungs, his breaths starting to sound more like wheezing than pants.

With a sudden crackling noise, one of the beams broke off and fell, landing on his shoulder. His normally smooth voice cried out in pain, falling forward and hitting his forehead painfully on one of the steps. It was a hard hit, the man seeing stars for a moment and sliding down a few steps before his feet were able to stop him from falling further. Damien had to tilt his body with a groan of pain for the beam to fall off, his hands having a death-grip on Quint's bag. If he had tried to grab the stairs it would have been all over, the man grateful that his grip hadn't slipped with how badly he was sweating. While his shoulder had been burned, he couldn't address that injury right now, gritting his teeth as he used his elbows and shins to get back on his feet to keep going. His face felt wet for some reason, not quite realizing that a gash on his forehead was bleeding down his face.

With deliberate, determined steps, he started to ascend once more. He was so close, the light from the opening seeming to beckon him with an outstretched hand as he pushed onward. A groan was heard overhead, making Damien swallow in fear. The shed was going to come down any second now, and if it did they would both be trapped inside to either burn or be baked alive. He tried to move faster, but just as he was almost to the top, a the loud sound of something heavy was heard, the only exit suddenly blocked by what looked like heavy wood.

"No..." he whispered, his grip tightening on the bag. They were trapped with no way out. He wasn't strong enough to lift it without the use of his hands, but he couldn't let go of the makeshift bag with Quint in it or he would go tumbling into the fire or burst into flames from a spark. A hopeless expression came to him as he fell to his knees near the exit, his body shaking as he realized that his gamble hadn't paid off. The only thing he could do now was thin of Cora, tears running down his face as he envisioned her kind face. Her hazel eyes had looked at him with such love, her kiss mirroring this when they had embraced earlier. Damien tried to recall and hold on to that feeling, wanting to feel loved when the flames finally came for him.

 

[Drobabes]

"Fuck, fuck!" he cursed, turning to look at the shed as he brought a hand up to wrap his fingers through his long hair. It wasn't safe to go in there, and if Damien didn't make it out, then it was going to be up to him and Sabastian to get the girls, and themselves, out of there safely. However, as they all heard that horrific groan, and then the inevitable collapse, Vin once again let his gut instinct lead him. He didn't say anything, he just moved.

By the time he got into the shed, everything was so covered in flames that he almost couldn't make out where the entrance was. It was sweltering hot and his eyes and lungs were already burning.

"Damien!" he took a step forward, his eyes trying to see through the heat and flames. He thought he had heard a him, or maybe it was just the fear for the tall man's life that made him hallucinate, but either way, he knew the sound had come from under that collapsed bench.

He peeled his shirt off and then bent down, dropping the fabric over what looked like a solid piece of metal bar. He then gripped it, thinking that the cloth would protect him, only to find out the next second that the metal was so hot that it was basically burning through that cotton and right into his skin. Still, it was too late now.

With a harsh grunt of adrenaline fueled anger and pain, he manages to lift it just a foot off the ground. A foot was all he needed, though, and while he had it up in the air, he quickly walked it back and then let it drop to the floor, along with what was left of his shirt. His hands were shaking as he turned back to the now cleared entry, and with one bloody palm, he reached in.

"Come on! I got you man, I got you" he panted.

 

[Poprockz]

With a panicked look, Sabastian had started to try to follow him, but his legs froze. Try as he might, he was powerless when it came to the fire in front of him. It made him paralyzed, unable to go with the man he loved, nor stop him from risking his life. He didn't know which he had intended to do, but he knew he would have liked to be with Vin either way.

In the shed, Damien had given up, accepted the fact that he was likely going to die there in that basement. So when he heard the grunts and saw the wood bench starting to move, he could only stare in disbelief as Vin opened the exit back up for them. It was unreal- he hadn't ever expected for Vin to risk himself by coming in to the burning shed, not for him. It simultaneously made his heart swell and ache, knowing that Vin deemed him worthy of saving, though it also occurred to him that it was possible that he was doing it for Quint or Cora's sake.

Still, the look Vin gave him as he held out his hand made him feel like just maybe the man considered him worth the risk. While he couldn't take Vin's hand without dropping Quint, he quickly urged himself up the stairs in a burst of adrenaline, almost dripping over the lip of the exit before scrambling out of the shed with Vin at his side. Not a few moments later, the entire shed collapsed and became simply a large bonfire. Had Vin acted with any hesitance, they would all have been consumed by the flickering flames.

When they approached the rest of the group, Damien was coughing and gasping from all the smoke he had breathed in, though he still tightly gripped the bag. The beam had been in prolonged contact with his back, so it looked very red and slightly black in some places, though for now the pain wasn't at the forefront of his mind. When his eyes found Cora, he gave her a tired smile and said, "We got him."

Quint had then been set onto the ground, the bag opening to reveal his slightly damp form. Sayori ran over to him and peeled off the rest of the blanket, her hands going to his face as her eyes searched him with worry. "Quint! Are you okay?!" She didn't even wait for an answer, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him to her chest tightly. While she wouldn't have mourned Damien's loss, Quint was irreplaceable- he was her best friend. Her arms trembled slightly as she held him, the dainty woman kissing the top of his unruly hair.

"Vin!" As soon as the tall man was close enough, Sabastian wrapped his arms (all of them) around him and hugged him tightly, not yet noticing the shape his hands were in. "You dumbass! You could have been killed!" The blonde's eyes were squeezed shut as he hissed those words at Vin, though a moment afterward his lip trembled and he started to cry, his wet tears dripping onto Vin's skin. "Thank god you're safe..."

 

[Drobabes]

Cora had stopped fighting Bowie enough for him to loosen his grip, finally moving to settle on her shoulders. Although the snake remained wary, and was ready to grip onto her again at a moments notice, he was also feeling the fear and anxiety ramping up in everyone. The soft one had ran into the flames and he couldn't stop him. With a little hiss that sounded much more forlorn than hostile, he turned his little head towards Cora and buried his nose in the crook of her neck.

She didn't know what to do. She had felt as if she had already lost them, that collapse being the final nail in her coffin. She didn't even have the will to be scared when Vin went rushing in; all she could do was sit there and wait.

When she saw them come out, Delvin gripping onto her brother and Damien at the same time as he helped them to run out, her eyes widened as much as they possibly could and she brought herself up to her feet on trembling legs.

"We got him."

There were no words that could express how she was feeling, so she just wrapped her arms around him and hugged his waist, her own frame shaking from the shock of almost losing them. She wasn't with it enough just yet to notice how badly he had been injured.

On the ground, Quint tried to sit up but found his body too weak to do much of anything, so instead, he just reaches a hand up to pat the top of her soft head.

"Heeey sweety" he says, his voice almost having a drunken slur about it.

"I thought I was the one that was supposed to save you from the collapsed building..."

With his eyes suddenly widening, and perhaps in part because of the huge amount of stress he had just undergone, he starts to sob and hug onto her like she's his own personal teddy bear.

"Don't take my pixie dust away" he cries, sounding much more boyish than he ever has before.

"I want to fly to Neverland with you!"
______________________________

Francisco had finally made it up that damn mountain, his legs and lungs be damned. And even though he was sweating and panting like a racehorse, his wide eyes still searched around until they finally landed on Quint. Relief and gratitude flooded his mind, and if Niles and Jonathon weren't hot on his heels, he might have even shed a few tears. As it were, he knew he was going to have to do something drastic in order to buy Sabastian enough time to get them out of there.
_______________________________

Vin had been panting and shaking like the rest of them, his arms going around Sabastian and wrapping a hand through his soft blond locks, staining them slightly red from his bloody fingers. He knew the little blond was only yelling at him because he was scared, and admittedly, it had been pretty stupid. But, if he had done nothing, they would have died.

"I'm sorry" he breaths, bending down to kiss the top of his head. When he comes back up, his eyes look out across the field and immediately spot the Officer with his gun raised.

"Move! Guys, move!"

Not a second after he shouts, the group would hear the distinct pop and whizz of a bullet flying within just a few yards of them.

 

[Poprockz]

When she hugged him, Damien simply held Cora. He imagined that the gratitude he felt in that moment would be able to fill the ocean if given physical form. The fact that he got to hold her and smell the sweet scent of her hair was something so precious that he himself had no words either.

Sayori had no idea what Quint was saying right now, but she was glad he was lucid enough to say anything at all. From his voice and the content of the conversation, she had no doubt he had been drugged. She thought she had seen Jonathan going into the shed a couple times with different vials and things, and this proved it. While he wept in her arms, she simply held him and kept him close.

"Don't take my pixie dust away. I want to fly to Neverland with you!"

"It's okay, Quint. We're going to fly away now. Shh, it's okay. Eep!" Sayori had been stroking his hair to comfort him when she jumped from the gunshot, her wide eyes looking back at Francisco. So he was really shooting at them? She didn't know why she felt betrayed, especially since she knew who he was and where his allegiances were, but her eyes couldn't hide a look of disappointment and sadness as her eyes went to him and then away, the woman quickly getting to her feet.

Sabastian had sighed, and was about to reply to Vin when he heard his warning and then the bullet nearly missing them. He let go of Vin and glanced at Francisco before looing down at the man on the ground who looked to be high as a kite.

Quint was obviously in no condition to be running, looking as though he would face-plant every few steps and then proceed to try to fight the ground as though it had personally offended him. For that reason, A tentacle reached out and scooped him up, wrapping around his waist and tucking him under Sabastian's arm, though he didn't run yet.

He hoped Francisco's reflexes were decent, because if they weren't, he was going to be in for a world of hurt. Another one of his tentacles reached out and quickly ripped up a nearby tree, the man only hesitating to yell "fuck you, old man!" before tossing it toward him. It bounced a bit before starting to roll down the mountain toward them, threatening to flatten anyone in its path if they didn't run or dodge in time. Thankfully, Fran had a bit of a heads up, though he was still in quite a bit of danger. It had to be done though, Sabastian not being able to afford playing nice right now.

"Let's go! Follow Vin and I," Sabastian yelled, prompting the group to take off. They all ran full-sprint to the cliff where the red car waited, the blonde turning to the rest of them after placing Quint in the passenger seat and putting his seat-belt on.

"We need to get the fuck out of here. There's no fucking way we're fitting into one car, so I grabbed this other red one. We need to leave now so get the fuck in so I can take Madam Zeroni down the mountain." He didn't know it but the red one he picked happened to be Niles's car. It had just enough seats and seatbelts for five people, Sabastian cracking his knuckles as he nodded at them, "buckle up, bitches- it's a long way down."

 

[Drobabes]

"Oh, you are not going to throw a fucking tree at me!"

"fuck you, old man!"

Oh yes he was.

Francisco managed to dodge it, but just barely. If he hadn't started to walk sideways when he saw Sabastian reach out with a tentacle and then rip the thing from the ground like he was Thor's little brother, he might not have had time to jump and fling himself to the ground, his hands dropping his gun in favour of covering his head. He felt the branches whip past his shoulders and sting his skin through his shirt and he knew that if he hadn't emptied his bladder before heading up here, he would have been laying in a warm puddle right now.

Niles and Jonathon hadn't quite ran up the hill like Francis had, but they hadn't dicked around either. They knew from experience that Francisco was the better shot, so it was best to let him take the lead.

When they were somewhat close to the top, they veered away from each other a bit-Niles making a wide birth to the left and heading up, and Jonathon sticking closer to the trees. This, unfortunately, didn't save him from the impact of a mad zombie man's flying projectile, and just as he was almost to the top of the hill, he first heard, and then felt, the crushing weight of wood and splinters rolling over his upper body. Even if he wasn't getting on in his years, the impact still would have been enough to knock him on his ass; and that's exactly what happened-his body getting flung back down to the ground and then pinned under another tree that had, for the most part, kept the first one from outright killing him.

He wheezed and coughed, and then tried to orientate himself, watching as Niles all but ignored him in pursuit of the intruders.

"Niles! Niles, get over here and help me!"

Those dark eyes were focused on something else though, his gun being raised up as he let out a furious yell.

"Sabastian!"

He was running now, the fury of seeing whose car they were all piling into making him blind with rage. He started letting off shots, his aim being hindered by his uncontrollable emotions.

"Niles you piece of shit! Get your fucking ass back here!" Jonathon roared, his legs starting to go numb beneath him and making him feel desperate.

...

Everyone piled in, Vin hopping in the drivers seat while Damien took shotgun. Cora, having almost lost her brother, didn't hesitate to get into the back with him and Sayori, though she also chose to sit right behind Damien. After they were all buckled in, she reached forward and put her hand on his shoulder, gripping him nervously as she stared out over the side and tried not to think about how they were going to get down that hill.

Quint had been so excited to hear Sabastian's voice, but the next thing he knew, he was unceremoniously dumped into a chair and then tied down. He didn't understand what was going on, and he almost tried to unbuckle the seat belt until he looked over and saw Cora hopping in, and then Sayori on his other side. Upon seeing Sayori, he reached over and took her hand, his eyes brimming up with tears again.

"Sayori, where did he go? Where did Sabastian go?"

Those big, crybaby tears start to leak down his face as his crystalline ocean eyes stare deeply into her chocolate brown, as if his question is the most dire matter in the whole world.

"He was just here and now I can't feel him. I can't feel him! Did he die?!"

He leans over and puts his forehead on the crook of her neck, his body starting to shake as he cries.

"If Fran killed him I'm going to shove a firework up his ass and light it with a, with uh...those barbecue lighters! But I won't, stick my hand up there. I'll use a stick."

 

[Poprockz]

“Sabastian!”

The one in question looked up as the rest of them loaded up, his eyes fixing on Niles. He wasn’t aware of the true reason for Niles’ anger, assuming that he was just butthurt that they were escaping on his watch, making all three of the officers look bad in Kuznet’s eyes. The officer was a shitty shot in the state he was in, but Sabastian couldn’t take any chances. Finding a good-sized rock about the size of a beachvall, he prayed that his own aim would be enough.

One of his tentacles picked it up and wrapped around it, drawing back and hurling it hard. Technically, the rock could have gone straight through Niles’ stomach or knocked his head clean off, but Sabastian hadn’t aimed for him. Instead, the rock went straight through a large tree further up the path from Niles. The sight of the rock taking a huge chunk out of the tree was a bit disturbing even for Sabastian, and he hoped he would never have to do anything like that to a person.

With a good portion of its trunk having been cut through, the tree groaned and the weight of it caused it to start to fall down on the path between them. If Niles continued forward, he would no doubt be crushed, and the thickness of the tree would at least slow him down if he tried to climb over it. As it was falling, Sabastian glared at him and flipped him off, shouting “how does that taste, Niles?!”

In the back of the car, Sayori’s brown eyes watched Quint as he spoke, thinking to herself that whatever they gave him was very potent stuff. The way he looked at her and snuggled close was adorable though, his hand feeling cool in hers as she held it. In that moment, the woman in the cute black overalls felt like maybe they really would be able to escape this place after all, and that maybe she could start to really repair things between them.

Though his tears caused her to give him a soft look, what he said about Francisco made her unable to hold back a little, “pfff!” Her lips were slightly curved as though she was trying her best not to outright laugh at him. While it was obvious his distress was real, the image of Francisco with a firework blowing out of his ass wasn’t helping her be serious at all.

“Sabastian is fine, so you won’t need to shove anything up Francisco’s butt. Besides, you’d have to take the stick up his butt out of there first, and that’s waaaaay far up ther-“ At that moment the car rocked, Sayori gripping his hand tightly as her heart started to beat. She hadn’t known that they weren’t driving down, so she could only assume that Sabastian was going to throw them or something. Plainly put, she was scared, the woman squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to tell herself that it was going to be okay.

Damien put his hand on Cora’s looking back at her with a reassuring smile. While he too was a bit nervous for the descent, he trusted Sabastian to get them down safely.

With the one of his tentacles wrapped around the car, he tucked it against his hip just like he had for Quint. And then... he started to climb. With the use in f three extra limbs, it was fairly easy to make his way down the cliff. He didn’t push it, not wanting to be careless and risk them all plummeting. To be honest, having all of their lives in his hands (tentacle) was a big responsibility, one that he hoped he wouldn’t have to do again any time soon.

After a tense climb down, his feet finally touched solid ground, the blonde sighing and wiping his dirty palms on his pants. With that, he continued to carry them while jogging until they reached the other car, setting them down gently.

 

[Drobabes]

The look on Niles face would have been absolutely comical, had Cora not hated him with such venom. She had been staring out, not worried for herself but for Sabastian, as she heard the shots fire off into the air. Watching as he picked up that huge boulder and then just before he launched it, Niles lowered his gun a bit and stared in wide eyed disbelief, as if he simply couldn't accept the reality he was seeing before him. His face also followed the trajectory of the boulder, staring at in it shock as it ripped a hole right through the trunk of the tree next to him, as if the little blond had just launched a cannonball. A twisted part of her almost wished Sabastian had aimed it at him, and although she certainly didn't want her friend to murder anyone, she wouldn't have regretted that evil fuck faces death. Or, perhaps she would have, but if she ever did, it would certainly wouldn't be an overnight shift in her morals or guilt.

"how does that taste, Niles?!"

She couldn't help it. For the first time in nearly a week, she let out a genuine laugh, followed quickly by a hoot of pleasure as she let go of Damien's shoulder so that she could lean over the side of the door and join Sabastian in flipping him off.

"Eat shit!!" she yelled, watching as his face become twisted with a look of stuck up disbelief just before the tree fell and stopped him from advancing.

In the front seat, Delvin was not handling this second trip on the mountain nearly as well as the first one. While he didn't necessarily hate heights-having no problems with being high up in a tree, or on a roof, he did not like the feeling of being buckled into a tin can and damn near forced to look over the edge as the cliff quickly came into view. The ride up had been different, in that, Sabastian had had the opportunity to take his time and hold onto them both securely. And, more importantly, all Vin had to do then was simply not look down. Now he was looking down, and oh my, how far that down was.

His back starts to press as far back as it will go in the seat and, seeing as there was no roof on the car, and therefore no handle to hold, he finds himself just gripping the sides of the seat like a very unwilling parent that just got dragged onto the largest roller coaster in the theme park.

"We're gonna die we're gonna die" he starts to say, mostly to himself as everyone else was basically background noise at this point. And once Sabastian actually starts to make the decent, and for that first second that the car was just dangling over the edge, Delvin's voice pitches up a bit in tone and he let's out a little "oh shit!"

In the back seat, Quint had -almost- been comforted enough by Sayori's gentle voice and touch, but when he heard Vin start exclaiming in that nervous manner, he starts to look around and become nervous as well. His big blue eyes turn to Cora, and he reaches up to pull her down against his chest, holding her almost painfully against him.

"Cory are we dieing? I don't want to! I want to watch Deadpool again!"

"No" she huffed, trying to dislodge herself from his strong grip.

"Quint we're not dieing, we're just going down the cliff, now let g-"

"Cliff?! Fran said we can't go towards the cliff! I won't let you Cory, you promised!"

"Quinton we're not dieing, and I'm not trying to kill myself! Vin, SHUT UP!"

If Sabastian would have happened to look in at that moment, he would have seen Quint all but shoving Cora's face into the crook of his armpit, Cora's hand's reaching up onto his arms-although it looked like she wanted to reach for his neck, and Bowie wrapped around the headrest on Damien's seat as his little head bobbed at their sibling shenanigans.

...

At long last, they finally touched ground once more and immediately Vin hopped out of the car. He almost had a similar look on his face to when that nasty piece of seaweed had lodged itself so rudely between his toes, and as he took a few steps away, he quickly tried to compose himself. From the back seat, Cora was now struggling to disentangle herself from not two, but six arms as Quint all but wrapped her up like a straight jacket on Houdini.

"You promised!" he bawled, and muffled from within his chest came a frustrated girly growl of rage.

"Quinton Markus Bluefield! If you don't let go of me, I am going to BEAT you!"

 

[Poprockz]

While Damien hadn’t said anything, he too had gone a bit pale upon looking down the cliff. He figured it was simply human nature, not wanting to fall down from such heights even if the logical side of him knew that there was a very low likelihood of Sabastian dropping them. It didn’t help when Vin started muttering to himself about dying, Damien giving him a slightly exasperated look before looking away. Cora’s angry “shut up!” made him smile though.

In the back, Sayori was too focused on keeping her eyes shut and praying that they survived that she didn’t notice the squabbling until they were almost to the ground. Her eye peeked open and she gazed upon the sight of Cora being shoved into Quint’s armpit, feeling a bit sorry for her as she assumed they hadn’t given her brother any deodorant and he had probably been sweating buckets under the heat of the fire. She didn’t envy that woman’s nose. Though, Sayori was pleased to be able to hear Quint’s full name, making a mental note of it as they touched the ground.

It was safe to say that everyone was relieved that it was over.

Seeing the madness that was happening in the back seat, Sabastian walked over to Cora’s side of the car and opened the door. His tentacles came out and scooped both Cora and Quint out of the car before setting them down on the ground. He was much stronger than Quint, especially when the other man was obviously drugged, so he had no trouble peeling each of his limbs off with one of his own. Though he had to change his tactic in the middle as if he didn’t continue holding on to any given limb, then it would just go back to wrapping around Cora. It ended up with each of his purple tentacles wrapped around Quint’s white ones, a wrist in each of Sabastian’s normal hands.

Once Cora was freed from the man’s grasp, the blonde let Cora take a step back, “Now which car should we put him in?” After the question left his mouth, a little mischievous smile painted his lips.

He decided to fuck with him, just a teensy bit. “Hmmm...” Once that thoughtful noise had been made, he made a popping sound with his mouth, very similar to the one in the dream they shared. Little did he know that Quint had actually gotten the opportunity to experience that sound in action. All he wanted to do was to embarrass him just a tiny bit by having his mind go to the dream where he had to cover his boner with a pillow.

Nearby, Sayori had taken Vin’s place in the driver’s seat, inspecting the car and marveling at how nice it was. Her hand went to the glovebox and she pulled it open, her eyes widening as she saw a little cache of hand sanitizer and wipes. This was Niles’s car and that was why he had been so focused on getting them. Her eyebrows furrowed as she smiled, thinking by to herself that it served that evil man right. Not only would he lose the prisoners, but his car as well. From the glovebox, she also pulled out a pair of sunglasses, putting them on and closing it.

The steely- eyed man got out from the car and winced. His back felt like it was on fire still, though he wasn’t able to look at the damage. When they got to wherever they were going, he was going to have to see if they had any burn ointment. His joy at having rescued Cora far outweighed the pain, the man walking over to her to stand at her side before looking down at Quint. So this was her brother... he wondered what he would think of Damien and whether he knew anything about the nature of their relationship. He seemed lost in thought, his eyes a bit unfocused as he thought about what might happen in the future.

 

[Drobabes]

For just a second, Cora thought it was Quint lifting her up to do...well, god knew what really. She hadn't seen him this high since her and Sarah had forced him to go to the dentist and get his wisdom teeth taken out, so for all she knew, he might have thought it clever to put her in the trunk or something, to prevent her from 'jumping' off the damn cliff. But if he would just stop shoving her face in the death trap that was his B.O., she could calm him down.

"Now which car should we put him in?"

"Thank you" she breathed, the relief palpable in her tone as she used the back of her arm to wipe her cheek dry. He had really sweated a lot while down there.

Suddenly her annoyance was forgotten, her eyes taking on a very soft look as she looked at her brother. They then traveled over to Sayori for a moment, and, biting her lip a bit, she realized that it would probably be more comfortable for the little women to ride with her brother-someone who she at least knew by now. Though Cora herself was no longer a stranger, Sayori didn't know Vin, and she certainly wouldn't feel comfortable with Damien in the car.

Meeting Sabastian's gaze, she was just about to throw in her suggestion when Quint, for about the third time, just burst into tears. Though Sabastian had wanted to get him embarrassed, the poor half zombie was simply in no state to remember anything besides the here and now. Though, if asked later, he would probably be very, very embarrassed about how he had acted in front of all of them while in his high state. For the moment though, he was completely focused on Sabastian, and the fact that he was still alive.

"Cory said you died!" he half cried, half mumbled, his tentacles now trying to fight the little blonds so that he could wrap him up into a similar hug as his sister. With how weak he felt, he wasn't standing at his full height of six foot, so when he couldn't wrap Sabastian up into a hug, he finds that his head is just close enough to the little blonds shoulder for him to seek that physical comfort of just being able to touch him. And though he had just meant to lay his forehead down gently on Sabastian, what he ends up doing instead is accidentally headbutting the little man.

"Oh jesus" Cora says, now stepping in to take over trying to get him under control. She puts her hands on his face and gently pulls him so that he is meeting her gaze.

"Quint, you're fine. Hey, shh, you're fine. You're just reeaally high right now."

"I'm high?" he asks, his tone sounding like a lost and beaten puppy.

"Yes, you're high. Jonathon drugged you earlier, remember?"

"Polaroid boy? I don't like him!"

"I know, I know" she said softly, giving Sabastian a bit of a nod as she moved in to to hug him, somewhat supporting his weight as his tentacles went to hang down limply by his sides and his head rests on her shoulder.

"Maybe we should have him stay in the red car. The fresh air might keep him from throwing up..."

Her hazel eyes look at the seat behind him, and then briefly glance over to Damien's car before returning back again.

"Is Sayori here?"

"Yes Quint, Sayori is here. She's coming with us."

With a little sniffle, he turns his head and torso around until he can see her, and then on wobbly feet, he climbs into the passenger seat beside her, making the decision for himself. And with her brother seemingly finally settled down, she was at last able to turn away and walk back over to Damien.

She comes to stand before him, her hazel eyes taking him in and becoming wet with fresh, albeit held back, tears as she reaches a hand up to caress his cheek. He was even more handsome than she remembered, but she couldn't ignore how the stress of the past week had played out in the dark circles under his eyes and his scruffy facial hair. Still, he was alive, and for that she was so very thankful.

"You look like you missed the turnout for Hell and just kept going" she says, trying to joke with him but not being able to get it all out without a choked little sob interrupting her halfway through.

By Damien's car, Vin was simply standing with his back against the door and his hands in his jeans pockets, his eyes still wary. They may have made it down the hill, but they really needed to get going. Who knew when the General or some of his other men might start showing up.

 

[Poprockz]

The little blonde nodded at Cora’s thanks and let go of Quint when Cora took over, rubbing his forehead a bit. That headbutt of his hadn’t been extremely hard, but it did have a little juice to it. Jesus, Quint was super high and he wondered how long it would last. Still, it looked like Cora had everything under control now, so he left her to it.

With the sunglasses on, Sayori watched from the car as Sabastian approached, reaching into his pocket and tossing her the car keys for the convertible. She caught them, putting them in the ignition and pausing to look over at Quint. The woman then leaned over him and grabbed his seat belt, buckling him up before leaning back and adjusting her seat a bit.

She was full of uncertainty, not knowing what she wanted to do or where she wanted to go in the future. For now though, she let out a breath and tried to ground herself in the present, her only goal currently being to get the hell away from this cursed place. “We’re preparing for take-off. Please keep your arms and tentacles in the vehicle at all times.” She tried to go for a smooth almost robotic voice, as though the phrase was being heard over the speakers in an airplane.

With that, she started the car and waited for the other to lead the way.

Sabastian made his way over and got into the driver’s seat of the other car, rolling down his window before popping his head out and smiling at Vin. “I think I’ll take the wheel first. I think I’ll be really lonely if I don’t have a strong, handsome, tattooed man next to me though. You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find someone like that, would you? Preferably with badass long hair and musical talent?”

When Cora approached, Damien simply watched her, soaking up that beautiful face of hers as her hand came up to his face.

"You look like you missed the turnout for Hell and just kept going"

“It felt like it for a while... I’m just so glad we found you.” His hand went to hers and he pulled it to his lips, pressing them against her fingers for a prolonged kiss. All the while, his eyes never left her. It almost felt like if he looked away, the General would swoop in like a bird and grab her again. He wanted to tell her all that had happened- what had happened after she disappeared, the fact that Vin knew, that there were rebels out there, everything. Now wasn’t the time though, as he knew they needed to get out of there fast. It was hard to move though, not from the pain on his back, but from the desire to simply stop and bask in her gaze for longer.

“We should probably start heading out. We want to put as much distance between ourselves and this place.” He started to turn away from her before swiftly turning back and hugging her tightly once more, his lips near her ear as he whispered, “I would endure much more if it meant I could keep you from ever having to experience anything like what you were put through.” The man lingered in that embrace, pulling away reluctantly when he heard one of the cars rev. Taking her hand, he walked with her to the car. That hand was trembling slightly, Damien feeling a bit overwhelmed with different emotions, the two at the forefront competing for first place being fear and love. How often those two seemed to go hand in hand. She seemed to love him deeply, reaffirming that every chance she got, so why was he still afraid of what would happen after Vin talked to her? It was hard to have faith when he stood to lose everything.

 

[Drobabes]

"Please keep your arms and tentacles in the vehicle at all times."

Quint had watched her dainty hands buckle him in, his gaze being slow but steady. When she then gave gave her verbal instructions, he started laughing but did as he was told, slowly pulling in his tentacles until they were back inside his body and out of sight. He then looked over at her and gave her a very genuine smile.

"You're awesome" he said, his head falling back against the seat as his eyes suddenly take on a very tired look.

"'mm so happy I got to meet you. Ray can't take that from me..."

He stared at her face for a moment more, and then he drunkenly looked away and closed his eyes, settling in for the ride. Perhaps she was going to lift the car up and fly them to Neverland after all.

Next to the other car, Vin had finally peeled his eyes away from the road to turn around, looking down as Sabastian stuck his head out the window. With a little grin, he bent down and gave him a lingering kiss that tried to convey how relieved he was. Though he didn't know what the future held, he knew that right now, he was just so thankful to have him back in his life, and safe.

When he pulled back, his grin turned toothy and dashing, his long hair hanging down like a backdrop to those handsome eyes.

"I've heard they hang out in abandoned gas stations, living off of cheap booze and waiting for angels to come to save them."

When he loaded up into the car next to him, he was still smiling.

Cora herself was no less nerve wracked then the rest of them, but the way that Damien looked at her kept her steady. He grounded her in a way that she had never felt before, and among many other things that he did, helped her to feel strong, even if she was still scared.

"I would endure much more if it meant I could keep you from ever having to experience anything like what you were put through."

Her eyes shut tight and she pulled his hand up to her own lips, returning his earlier kiss with a lingering one of her own, praying that he would never have to. When the car revved, she almost wanted to cry again. Of course she wanted to go, but she also didn't want him to let go of her. She just had to comfort herself with the knowledge that she would get to ride in the car next to him, with his arms wrapped around her. His arms, that were warm and right.

...

The trip from that mountain was a long one. With the group wanting to get as much distance between themselves and the General as they possibly could, they all road on well into the night.

Throughout their road trip, Cora had barely budged from Damien's side, except to dig out some medical supplies from one of the bags. She had given him a good dose of pain killers, and used some of the numbing cream, but knew that the burn would be a nasty one that would likely leave him sick with pain for many days. If it were normal times, it would have been the type of burn that he would go to a hospital to be treated. As it were, they simply had to do the best they could with what they had, and she would be there to make sure it was cleaned properly and allowed to heal.

Though she spent a majority of her time simply looking into his eyes, sharing soft little smiles, or touches of affection, she also couldn't seem to sit still. Every few minutes, she would look out of the windows, nervous that they could be followed, or that any moment, their path would be blocked off and they would all be back within Ray's sick clutches. It got so bad that at one point, she simply had to close her eyes and take a deep breath so she didn't scream from the sheer stress of it. And while she had had her eyes closed, she had laid her head down gingerly on Damien's shoulder, where it wouldn't hurt him.

When she opened her eyes back up, she happened to glance into the rear view mirror and see Delvin staring at them. For just a few brief seconds, they locked eyes, and then he had looked away, and Cora felt a knot settle into her stomach.

So, Ray hadn't just been screwing with her, had he? While she had laid there, pinned under his massive form, he had been whispering his dirty secrets of how he planned on ripping them all apart; burning down the bonds of friendship that she had finally built before "putting them out of their misery". She hadn't wanted to believe him at the time because she had thought he was simply trying to salt his meat.

With tears in her eyes, she looked away and turned around, her gaze going through the back window to check on her brother and Sayori for about the fortieth time since they had left. Up until that point, he hadn't woken up, but this time when she looked back, she saw him sitting there and...glaring. He was glaring, hard, at Damien. She knew it was Damien, cause who else would it be? When he had woken up, she didn't know, but suddenly she felt a whole knew kind of fear.

She turned away once more, and this time, she stopped trying to look around. She reached down for Damien's hand, and holding it tightly, she put her forehead against his forearm and simply wept silent tears. She didn't know what was going to happen when the car stopped, but she knew that she wasn't going to let go of him until she knew he would be safe.

...

The stop finally came when the moon was high overhead. It was just a little rest stop off the side of the highway, run down even by modern standards. But, it had buildings that would keep them out of the rain if the clouds rolled in, and, more importantly, the woods were thick and crowded next to it. If someone came for them, at least they would have a chance to hide.

When Sayori pulled the car over, Quint looked over at her and gave her a very serious look before speaking.

"I need to talk to her, but I want you to come with me. I don't know if Sabastian or his partner know what he's done, and I don't trust him. I won't take us very far away, but I have to get her alone, alright?"

Though he had spent the majority of the ride sleeping, he was awake now, and keenly aware of what was going on. The conversation about what had happened while he was drugged-about Sabastian and the rest of the group saved them, was a short one with Sayori. He had of course, been overjoyed. He had even cried with relief. However, as quickly as his relief had come, it had soon been replaced by anger upon looking into the other car and seeing Damien. After that, he had gone dead silent and had barely even moved in his seat. He knew they were safe, now-Ray wouldn't be able to get to them so long as he was by her side, but now there was a knew enemy in his family. And just like with Ray, he planned on getting rid of the threat.

From the back seat, Cora was still sitting in the car, and though she had dared to glance out, she didn't move from her spot, even as Delvin and Sabastian got out to stretch.

 

[Poprockz]

Quint's words warmed Sayori's heart, the woman's smile simply gaining additional warmth from his remarks.

Damien had slept for most of the ride; while he wanted to spend more time with Cora and be there for her, the pain in his back was starting to become more prominent, thus the use of the pain meds and cream. They helped, but they didn't quite cut through the pain as much as he'd hoped. In addition, he was very tired anyway. The previous night was the first time he had really slept in three days, and he had spent a lot of it drinking and apparently spilling his guts to Vin.

Meanwhile in the front seat, Sabastian would occasionally look over to give Vin a smile. However instead of Vin's eyes being drawn to him, they had been focused on the rearview mirror, on Cora. At first he thought that maybe he was just checking on her state of mind, the man being worried about her or something. As the ride went on though, he noticed that there was something else in his lover's eyes. It seemed complicated, but he felt like he almost sensed a hint of dread. In addition to that strangeness, he had a burning sense of hatred in the back of his mind, recognizing that it was from Quint. He didn't know why he felt that way, perhaps having been told something upsetting by Sayori, but when he himself looked in the side-mirror, he thought he saw Quint's gaze fixed solely on Damien.

This was fucking weird, and he was going to have to ask Vin about it when they ended up stopping.

....

"I need to talk to her, but I want you to come with me. I don't know if Sabastian or his partner know what he's done, and I don't trust him. I won't take us very far away, but I have to get her alone, alright?"

The petite woman had just been taking the keys out when he said this, her brown eyes meeting him with an equally serious look. Ever since he woke up in the car, he had been glaring at the back of the other car, assumedly at Damien. She knew what he wanted to talk about, and she herself supported it. Cora didn't seem to want to listen to Sayori in regards to Damien, so perhaps she would listen to reason from her brother.

"Sounds good to me." She nodded before getting out of the car and walking toward the other one, knocking gently on Cora's window. When it was lowered, she glanced at Damien before looking back at Cora. Oh how gentle and harmless he looked while he was sleeping, it almost looked as though he wasn't the type of man to steal women into the woods for fun.

"Hey. Me and Quint are going on a walk, do you want to come? Damien looks like he needs some rest, so we could just leave him in the car until we've got our sleeping arrangements figured out." Her voice was soft so as not to wake him, but she hadn't realized that Damien was still the light-sleeper he was back in the cabin.

He opened his eyes and resituated himself a bit to let them know he was awake, Sayori jumping slightly from the surprise. Meeting both of their eyes in turn he said, "yeah, honestly I think staying in the car for a bit would be best. So I think walking around would be nice if you want to- I'll still be here when you get back." He smiled a tired smile at Cora, knowing that she likely would want to stretch her legs a bit.

Meanwhile, Sabastian got out of the driver's seat and walked around to Vin's side, nodding at Quint before saying, "yeah, I actually have something I need to talk to Vin about, so just let me know if you need me at any point." Of course he was referring to their link, the blonde knowing that if Kuznet's men caught up with them, Quint was now in a good state of mind to be able to communicate this. With that, he took Vin's hand and all but dragged him away. It didn't seem like he was angry, nor did it seem like he was giddy or excited. It merely looked like he was impatient and that there was something weighing on his mind.

Once he was able to get Vin over to one of the buildings, far enough away that Damien couldn't hear them from the car, he turned to Vin and narrowed his eyes. "Okay, spit it out. I wasn't born yesterday and I could tell that something was wrong in the car. You kept looking at Cora all weird like you expected her to catch fire at any moment or something. What's going on?" The man put his hands on his hips, his hips slightly angled up to one side. As it was starting to get dark, his violet eye was starting to almost glow in the dim lights of the gas station.

 

[Drobabes]

Quint had gotten out of the car, intent on going over there and dragging his sister out by her hair if he had to. He wouldn't be above it either, though he hadn't done it since they were kids and she had done something very messed up. Though, this almost seemed to warrant the same level of treatment. However, before he could even slam the door shut-which admittedly would have gave him a little satisfaction, seeing as it reeked of Niles filthy cleaning agents, he saw Sayori heading over to the car. It both surprised him and gave him a sense of gratitude, that she would be so brave as to go over there and get near a man who had kidnapped and assaulted her, just to fetch his sister. Later, when they were alone, he needed to thank her for that, but for right now, he simply shut the door and then crossed his arms while he waited.

Cora had almost jumped at the soft tap, having expected her brother to yank it open and drag Damien out, but when she saw it was Sayori, she was almost more weary. Still, she lowered the window and heard what she had to say, and, combined with Damien telling her she should get out and stretch, she knew there was really no avoiding it now. Still, at least if she went off alone with her brother, she knew Damien would at least be safe from him. Quint couldn't run as fast as she could-half zombie or not.

With shaky hands, she slowly opened the door and stepped out. Before she turned away, however, she ducked down and grabbed his hand and gave him one last lingering gaze.

"Don't go anywhere, okay?"

She then leaned in close and whispered near his ear, so that only he would be able to hear her.

"And if you hear me yell at you to run, you get the fuck out of this car and book it."

She pulled back then, her eyes scared but determined as she gave his fingers a little squeeze and finally let him go.
_______________________________________

Delvin was a bit surprised to be carted off by the little man, having no clue why he wanted to talk to him. Although, come to think of it, maybe he had something to tell him about The General.

It was this line of thinking that led him to knitting his brows, and when upon being questioned, a very shocked look coming to his face before it settled down into a frown. His hands went to his jeans pockets, his arms tucking into his sides a bit, and seeing as he wasn't one to really get cold, even with no shirt on, it could only be assumed that he was very uncomfortable. Before he spoke, he looked down at the ground between them.

"Kuznet came and talked to me while we were looking for you at a base."

He backed up until his back was against the side of the building, his chest heaving with a bit of a sigh.

"He told me some things. Most of it was a lie, of course. He was trying to trick me, but...he told me that Damien had kidnapped a women..."

His eyes came up then, his face turning to look out across the way as his eyes watched Sayori leave with Quint and Cora into the woods, before they came back and met Sabastian's.

"...and raped her... And then I went to find Cora. I didn't get a chance to ask her if it was true because he..."

Those soft brown eyes of his suddenly well up with tears, remembering first how she had looked at him with such fear, and then remembering finding the tape in the trunk of the car. He cleared his throat and looked away.

"Well, anyway, I asked Damien myself. Later, when he found me. If I wasn't so weak and Bowie wasn't there, I probably would have killed him."
_______________________________________

Quint only waited until they passed the initial treeline, and then he started in on her. Walking by Sayori swiftly, he came up to her side and glared down at her as they walked, and his voice spit venom with each word.

"How could you be so fucking stupid Cora? What, did he trick you? Is he threatening you?"

"No."

"You know he did this to Sayori too, right? And to who knows how many other women!"

"I know..." she said meekly, hugging her arms to her chest and looking away as she continued to walk. This was fine. She could take this. As long as he kept walking, and once they were far enough away, then she would speak up. But for right now, she needed an edge-a chance to catch him if he turned around.

"I don't think you do fucking know!" he growled, making sure not to outright shout. He wouldn't need to though, as his every word was obviously like a slap, her frame flinching every time he leaned in close, or tried to get her to look at him. He hated that she wouldn't either, so he switched to her other side, trying to catch her eyes.

"Did the therapy teach you nothing? Did you just forget what it looks like? I thought you were taking it seriously Cora! I thought you were doing it with me!"

"I don't have Stockholm's Quinton, I chose to go with him after I left his cabin..."

"Oh, what, when the world was ending and you were literally safer in a rapists hands than out there on your own?! Oh! Yea! You don't have it!"

She wouldn't say anything to that, knowing that it didn't matter what she said anyway. She was more than aware of how it looked, and how the rest of the world would view it. With pity, like she was the victim of his mind games. Except that, she knew better. Cora knew what mind games were-they had both been taught, very well.

"Have you even thought this through?" he spat, leaning down so that she had to look at him, and see the way he was gesturing to his own head .

"Yes, I've thought it through."

"Have you?! Have you thought about, if he's got bastard children out there in the world? Have you thought about, maybe if he's ever had to kill any of those women he took? If any of them ever fought back and pissed him off?"

Her feet suddenly picked up the speed, her face turning away from him again and her posture becoming more hunched. Quint mistook it for possibly getting through to her, but for Cora, she was just trying to make it a few more feet...

"Well has he? Has he ever killed anyone Cora?"

"Yes" she said, not willing to lie.

"Well there ya fucking go!"

"He killed people that were hurting someone, Quinton!"

She had had enough, and finally, she whirled on him, her back no longer being hunched over but strong and tall, and her hazel eyes burned fire right back into his drowning ocean of pain. Because she knew that's what this was really about-pain.

"You didn't answer my fucking question. I bet you were too scared to even ask it."

"He wouldn't kill an innocent person."

 

[Poprockz]

When Cora told him not to go anywhere, he nodded and enjoyed the feeling of her hand holding his. He would certainly be waiting right here for her. After all, getting out of the car was probably going to be painful business, and he thought that he’d rather put it off for as long as possible.

He thought she was going to whisper a sweet nothing into his ear, but what he got was a warning. It put him a bit on edge, the man’s eyes flicking from Cora to Quint and back before nodding. As the car door shut and they all left, he wondered if Quint was going to be coming for him when they got back. He could understand why if Sayori had told him, knowing that any man would probably hate him based on his history.

———————

It was Sabastian’s turn to look shocked, his eyes looking away from Vin’s for a moment as he decided how to respond. It wasn’t as though he had lied to him, but it hadn’t been his secret to tell. Still, he felt a certain degree of guilt for Vin being in the dark about it until recently.

“I... knew. I knew he took Cora and..” he swallowed hard and shifted on his feet, finding it a bit difficult to say. “I knew he had raped her. When it looked like she was going to die from her zombie bite, when we thought you were dead, she told me. She thought that if she died, Damien would try to off himself as well.”

Sabastian wasn’t really able to meet Vin’s eyes just yet, the blonde looking in the direction of the car. “Cora had me promise that if she died, that I’d try to keep him alive and I agreed. I haven’t really completely processed it all, but she seemed to think that he deserved a second chance, and that he was learning to be better. What he did was really fucked up, but if she forgave him then I figured I’d give it a shot. At the very least, I could make sure that if anything did happen in the future, that I could step in.”

At that point he sighed and looked up at Vin with a serious look, “I still don’t completely trust him though. If Tiffany had said that he forced her to fuck him, I think I would have beat him up and left him to fend for himself. I suppose it’s good Cora showed up in time because I wouldn’t have believed him.”

———————————

In the woods, Sayori walked with them as they started in on their heated discussion. She agreed with everything Quint was saying, thinking to herself that Cora probably didn’t even realize that she had Stockholm’s, too deep to look at things rationally. While she didn’t necessarily think Damien was a killer, he was delusional and dangerous.

When there was a slight pause in the conversation, she turned to Cora and said clearly, “what makes you think he isn’t putting on an act for you, giving you lip service and telling you what you want to hear until he’s done with you? Can you really say that you trust him and that you know he won’t toss you to the side? Sure he helped in the rescue, but he’s delusional, he does what he wants until it doesn’t suit him anymore.”

 

[Drobabes]

"I haven’t really completely processed it all, but she seemed to think that he deserved a second chance, and that he was learning to be better."

Vin didn't say anything, simply standing there against the wall and letting Sabastian talk. He had had a lot to think about in the car, remembering everything from the story Damien had told him, to the bits of drunken conversation at the base, and then the note. It made sense, now, why Sabastian's bit for the steely eyed man had been so short. Still, did he deserve a second chance? While most would disagree, Vin couldn't help but side with Cora on this one, after learning what he had learned.

"I still don’t completely trust him though. If Tiffany had said that he forced her to fuck him, I think I would have beat him up and left him to fend for himself. I suppose it’s good Cora showed up in time because I wouldn’t have believed him."

He was looking out towards the treeline again, seeing if he could spot them coming back, but Sabastian's body language had him notice that he was looking his way, so he turned his eyes back to meet that luminescent purple. It was getting more difficult to see his face, but the moon rising up was helping a bit in a way.

"I don't...know how I feel about it, now. After what I learned while we were trying to figure out what to do and get Cora back, I can't help but..."

It was his turn to let out a sigh, his hand going to the back of his neck. He loved Sabastian, didn't he? Then he needed to be honest with him.

"Like, I feel sorry in a way. He should have known better, and yea, if he ever tried that shit again, I probably will kill him. But after what he went through, I don't know. I just can't help but feel like it twisted him up to the point of really not understanding right from wrong. Not that I'm condoning it" he said hastily, dropping his hand down.

"It's fucked up. But...I don't know, I feel like he was the one that got hit with the first stone, if that makes any sense?"

Of course, Vin had no idea that Sabastian knew nothing of the life that Damien had lived when he was younger. In his mind, because Sabastian had lived with him in the mansion, and because he spoke so vulgarly of Damien's mother, Vin was just assuming that he knew at least a bit of what had really happened to the tall man.

"I guess it doesn't matter. After we get out of here, we're going our separate ways anyway. I told him I would help him get Cora out, but after that, we're done. I'm going to try and get her to come with us and he can go...wherever."
____________________

Cora's eyes flashed at Sayori for a moment before she crossed her arms and closed them. For a long second, she was completely silent, not bothering to answer the little women.

It was one thing for her brother to have this conversation with her; someone who was friend, sibling, parent...a very part of her soul that could never be replicated and was rarely understood by an outsiders view, but for someone who Cora had only known for less than a week...and yet still, even this, she tolerated. Sayori had been hurt deeply by Damien, and while Cora herself had been scared for her life at first, she had quickly come to see that he wasn't seeking to cause her pain. Take from her selfishly, yes. But she was simply used to so much worse that, besides those first few stressful hours with him, he hadn't truly hurt her. And she realized that this too, was on her. Just because she herself had such a high tolerance and...unfortunately, scarred mindset from it all, did not mean that what Damien had done was no less scarring to someone else, as what Ray had done to her.

When she opened her eyes back up, they were wet with fresh tears, but she respected Sayori enough to at least look her in the eyes as she spoke.

"You will not accept any explanation I could give you Sayori, so please don't ask me to explain."

Quint had only gone quiet because he was absolutely flabbergasted by her reply, but when his sister responded to the little women who had so quickly become his friend, he felt a heat build in him. Sayori deserved an explanation, and so did he.

"Cora, just because he killed, maybe, bad people-"

"They were bad, and no, I don't condone what he did" she shot back, her eyes quickly going back to him. He wasn't done with her, she knew, but she was ready to wait out his anger until he would actually let her talk.

"You know what you little fucking brat, why don't you answer me then? Huh? Did you ever ask him if he killed any of those women?"

"No, but I know he wouldn't have" she said voice hot as she looked around her, finally finding a large log to sit on. And as she sat down, she let her voice go a bit more quiet as she continued.

"He likely would have let himself be killed before he ever truly hurt those girls..."

"Bullshit!" Quint said, his voice almost shouting this time as he pointed an accusatory finger her way and stepped up to her.

"Someone doesn't just fucking kidnap and rape people, and then not be willing to kill those people if they tried to kill them. You're fucking delusional, and I don't know what the fuck happened to you while I was gone-"

"Yea, you were gone Quinton! You were taken by the man, who you" she hissed, pointing her own finger into his chest until it hurt the both of them.

"Promised me was dead, Quinton."

Though she was still angry and trying to hold it together, she couldn't fight off the tremor in her voice, or the way her lip wobbled as she glared up at him.

"You promised me...why did you lie to me for so long?"

He once again looked flabbergasted, his eyes widening and his hands coming up to grip onto his hair for a moment before he flattened his palms and splayed his fingers out.

"Because you would have given up! You would have just...never done anything, because you would constantly been afraid of his wrath! Even if we had escaped, and we were on the run, you still would have acted like he could have swooped in at any time and grabbed us and you never would have tried!"

"Right" she said slowly, her throat clenching up and making her swallow before she could continue.

"And, so, living this half life all these years, fighting off depression and never really trying anyway, because I never got to see his body-because I never actually got confirmation he was dead...that's been better? That's, let me 'live'?"

She closed her mouth suddenly and shook her head, her eyes going to some unseen point behind him as she glared.

"No, Quint, I haven't been living. I haven't been trying. I've just been going through the motions because I promised I would never hurt you like that again. Maybe if I had known he was alive, yea, I might have been looking over my shoulder..."

She looked back up at him again, the tears in her eyes spilling over from the overwhelming anger that was bleeding out in her tone.

"...but at least I might have learned to fight. With you and Sarah there with me, I might have tried to be stronger, so that we didn't get caught again. So that we could be free."

He turned away from her and took a few angry steps, pacing for a moment as he bit his thumb nail and glared at her. Then he quickly came back, and this time, he was the one that was on the verge of tears.

"How could you Cora? After everything we went through, this is such a fucking slap to the face, you know that? Do you just not care?"

"You...of course I care!" she said, standing up from the log.

"Do you think I'm so stupid? Do you think I don't know that what he did is disgusting, and wrong, and scarring? Do you think I'm blind to the pain he's caused?! To those women; to Sayori?!" she cried, pointing a finger in the little women's direction while her eyes remained locked on her brothers.

"You're acting as if I condone what he did, or that I'm somehow trying to justify it just because I love him, but I'm not! I have forgiven him, for what he did to me!" she hissed, pointing her finger at her own chest and tapping it aggressively as she went on to talk.

"For taking me, for raping-yes, I'm not going to shy away from it, me. Not for what he did to anyone else. I have not, and I never will, be alright with that, but it doesn't matter because that is not my choice to forgive, it's theirs!" she said, once more pointing at Sayori and glancing at her only briefly before quickly looking away.

"And that's only if they even want to. But me...what I forgive...is my choice, and I'm not going to let you fucking take it from me, do you understand me?!"

Although the snap and bite in her tone had originally shocked him enough to take a step back, by the end of her little speech, Quint's face had clouded over not with rage, but a cold, slow burning fire. When he talked again, it was much more quietly.

"I'm not trying to take your choice away Cora. I'm trying to get you to see that you're making a catastrophically stupid one."

She turned away from him, one of her hands going to her forehead like she was trying to fight off a headache, and then she sat back down on the log and buried her face in both of them. She wasn't going to get through to him like this. He wouldn't accept excuses, but maybe...

"Quinton...what do you think would have happened to us if we didn't have our parents?"

"What are you talking about?"

He didn't like what she was suddenly implying with that question, and although he didn't yet know where she was going with it, he couldn't help but start to feel a bit scared. He then watched as she let her hands slip down her face, taking some of her tears with them. When she next looked up at him, her gaze was so broken and vulnerable that he couldn't help but start to soften. There was no anger or fight left in her now-only pain, and he hated that.

"What would have happened to us, if we didn't have our parents to love us? Or, if Ray had taken us from them when we were much younger? Do you think we still would have turned out to be kind, and loving, and compassionate? Or do you think he would have eventually twisted and broke us with his sick games? If we had to tolerate him for so long, and never knew anything different besides the lies he fed us?"

"What are you trying to say, that pretty boy had a fucked up childhood? Lots of kids have fucked up childhoods-they don't grow up to rape people, Cora."

"No, they don't. But those kids are rarely literally tortured either."

The information that she was giving him was so shocking to Quint, that for another moment, he couldn't figure out what to say. She had sucker punched him right in the gut, shocking him out of his anger and leaving him grasping at straws to hang onto it. He didn't want to, and wouldn't forgive Damien for what he had done to Sayori and likely countless others, but to say that he felt nothing at her words would have been an outright lie. No matter how messed up he thought Damien was, Quint hated torture. Even when he had been tracking down the worst of the most disgusting villains with Francis, he had never liked it. There was simply a point where enough pain and misery caused a human to break, and in that breaking moment, they were nothing more than the person that they had first been when they were born-screaming out their want to live alongside everyone else. It hurt his very soul to see it, and especially so after having gone through it.

"So you're just going to stay with him, then?" he finally manages after the silence had grown heavy.

"Yes."

"And what if he does it again, Cora? What if he goes back to his old way-if he's even changed at all."

"Then I'll leave."

Quint looked at her sharply, his tone growling once more as he spoke.

"And what if he doesn't let you? What if he decides he wants to keep you, just like Ray?"

Cora stared at him for a very long time and then she slowly stood up and walked toward him, her eyes staring him down as if she wasn't almost half a foot shorter.

"Well then I guess you won't be the only one breaking promises."

With that said, she turned from him and started stomping back towards the cars.

"Where are you going?"

"To get something besides a fucking dress on!"

 

[Poprockz]

"I don't...know how I feel about it, now. After what I learned while we were trying to figure out what to do and get Cora back, I can't help but...

"Like, I feel sorry in a way. He should have known better, and yea, if he ever tried that shit again, I probably will kill him. But after what he went through, I don't know. I just can't help but feel like it twisted him up to the point of really not understanding right from wrong. Not that I'm condoning it--
It's fucked up. But...I don't know, I feel like he was the one that got hit with the first stone, if that makes any sense?" I guess it doesn't matter. After we get out of here, we're going our separate ways anyway. I told him I would help him get Cora out, but after that, we're done. I'm going to try and get her to come with us and he can go...wherever."

The zombie nodded, reaching up and rubbing his temples with his hand for a moment before sighing again. "Yeah... I kinda get what you mean. I suppose isolation and having shitty parents can fuck you up quite a bit. I also don't think it'll ever truly be okay that he raped Cora, and it really makes me feel sick to my stomach. I... don't know how I feel about dumping him on his ass out here though. Like, I know we can't take him to a base now, but you have to admit that he's probably going to be pretty shit at surviving on his own." Sabastian shrugged, glancing in the direction of the car.

"Whatever happens, I hope Cora is the only one who will ever have to feel like that because of him. We can't turn back time, but I'm really hopeful that if he makes his way out here, that he'll try to make something better of himself." With that, Sabastian shivered slightly and thought to himself that he should really grab his jacket out of the car before they did anything else.

---------------------------------------------------

"You will not accept any explanation I could give you Sayori, so please don't ask me to explain."

She wasn't sure what she had expected, but it certainly wasn't that. It seemed as though Cora was shutting down a bit, guarding herself against the holes they were putting in her arguments and reasoning. That might be a good sign though, the woman recognizing that their arguments had merit, even if she didn't want to admit it.

"You're acting as if I condone what he did, or that I'm somehow trying to justify it just because I love him, but I'm not! I have forgiven him, for what he did to me! For taking me, for raping-yes, I'm not going to shy away from it, me. Not for what he did to anyone else. I have not, and I never will, be alright with that, but it doesn't matter because that is not my choice to forgive, it's theirs!"

The petite woman listened intently, pursing her pouty lips as that finger pointed at her not once, but twice during her speech. It was what she had told her back in their room at the General's house. She knew that she herself would never forgive that man for what he had done. She would sooner have Niles clip off her finger again. Within her, there was a burning hatred for that man, and she suspected it would not be extinguished even if did apologize. However, as Cora went on, Sayori lost a bit of the sharpness in her eyes, mulling over her words thoughtfully.

It was obvious that Cora loved him, whether it was a result of Stockholms or not. Would Cora regret her decision later? Would she follow him with a sparkle of affection in her eyes and end up dying in a ditch somewhere, afraid and alone? Her eyes watered and she crossed her arms over her chest, reaching out slightly in Cora's direction as she started to head back.

"Cora, wait! He did kill an innocent person." Sayori was silent for a moment before continuing, hoping that she decided to listen. "When he was a child, there was a missing persons case centered around his best friend, a boy named Toby. I looked it up and everything pointed to Damien being the killer. There's no outright evidence that says it was him, but I know that there wouldn't be, being that his family probably just covered it up. Cora, " Her voice trembled with emotion, those big brown eyes of hers having lost the heat they had a minute ago. Now all they retained was a pleading look, one that told Cora that she was trying her best to get through to her. And indeed, Sayori hoped that at the very least her words would plant the seed of doubt or cause her to be more wary around him.

"If he did that to his best friend, as a child, what's to say that you're any safer around him? I also don't want to interfere in your choices, but what has he ever done to make you feel like you could really trust him?" When saying this, Sayori assumed that it would crumple Cora's argument, not truly knowing what they had gone through together.

 

[Drobabes]

"Whatever happens, I hope Cora is the only one who will ever have to feel like that because of him. We can't turn back time, but I'm really hopeful that if he makes his way out here, that he'll try to make something better of himself."

Vin stared at him for a moment, barely moving. He wasn't sure what to do, or what to say to that exactly, as it sounded a lot like Sabastian only knew about Cora, and if that were the case...would he get just as enraged as Delvin had? He wouldn't blame him if he did, but none of them would be able to stop him if Sabastian deemed it necessary to end Damien's life.

In all honesty, he didn't want Damien dead. Not anymore at least, and the nomad wondered how far now, his loyalty to their once upon a time friendship should extend. He had promised him that he would help him get Cora out, and he had. But he had also told him he could go on his way, and try to start over. What was the right thing to do here? Was it right to share the rest of Damien's secret? Then again, Damien had no ground to stand on if it was coming down to just secrets.

"Sabastian..." he said, finally moving to bring his arms up to cross them over his chest, though his eyes still staid in that steady gaze. Maybe if he told him the darker side of things first, it might add some weight to the horrible news he was going to drop.

"You know it wasn't just isolation, right? I just assumed since you lived with the guy, you would have known at least something was up, but I guess if his parents were keeping it under wraps...

When I confronted him about everything, he told me that his mother used to whore him out to other wealthy couples, and that was some of the only times he would ever get any praise from her. And then, it was only if he 'performed' well enough. He's also told me before that he used to have a dog when he was a kid, and she would step on the dogs feet just because she liked that it hurt him to see the dog cry. On top of that, he said his father used to hold his head under bathwater until he was about to pass out. He was probably doing that for years..."

Vin looked down, a very somber gaze coming to his face as he realized just how long Damien had likely been suffering.

"I mean, he could have been making that up to gain sympathy, but I don't think he is. He could have easily lied to me when I asked him about the pictures Kuznet had taken at the lake-which were opportunistic, Damien wasn't actually doing anything bad then, but he hadn't. He could have just told me that everything the General said was made up to split everyone apart so he could get Cora, but he didn't.

It would have been pretty easy to do, too, because I would have believed him no doubt. Then all he would have had to do was get us back together, wait until we rescued her, and run off with her while we were all asleep or something. But like I said, he didn't, and he told me why he started doing what he did."

He brought his hand up to tuck his hair behind his ear, his eyes looking very serious but also sad as they traveled out and towards the cars.

"But that being said...I don't know if it's forgivable. He took more than just Cora. He took other women too."
________________________________

Cora had stopped, reluctantly, when she was called out to. And as Sayori went on to explain, she found herself growing more and more livid. Not at Sayori, but at Damien's parents; because of how they twisted that awful event and left a scar so deep in his heart that it would likely never truly heal over. But, this was something she could defend. This was something that she knew, intimately, and she wouldn't let them dare to stand there and think that he was the perpetrator in that masterful crime.

She turned around so fast and started marching towards Sayori that Quint actually jumped forward a bit. He wasn't sure what she was going to do-yell, or throw a punch, but he was not about to let that happen. It was unnecessary though, as Cora stopped just a few feet away and shot them both a deadly glare as she began to speak to the both of them.

"That was not my secret to share, but since you already went and dug it up, I'll give you the other pieces of the puzzle, because all you see Sayori is a broken shard stained with blood from your own wound.

When you went digging for that information, did you ever find any information on the little girl that was also his friend? No, I bet you didn't because nothing was ever done to her. And nothing was ever done to her because Damien's parents gave him a choice" she spat, her hands balling up by her sides as fresh tears started pouring down her face.

"He could either kill his best friend-or kill that little girl. And if he didn't choose, then both of them would die."

Cora was silent for a moment after that, letting it sink in and letting the fire through her hazel eyes pour over her brother, because if he had thought she had slapped him in the face for choosing to be with a man who had done terrible acts, then how much more would it hurt her for him to stand there and deny that Damien wasn't innocent in this particular case? How many times had Ray given them 'choices?'

"So he chose" she went on at last, a sob breaking through her tough demeanor.

"He chose, the lesser of two evils. He chose one life over two. And he chose that when he himself was nothing but an innocent child, caught in a disgusting!...disgusting game...

So yes, I do trust him. I trust that he isn't evil, and that he does not want to be a monster. And I trust that, had anyone ever stepped in to save him before it was too late, he might have had a chance. But no one ever did."

That last sentence was spat towards Quinton, her frame shaking as she once more started to turn and walk away.

"You know it's a goddamn miracle he didn't turn out like Niles, with how both of his parent's were" was the last thing she said, not bothering to turn around and face them this time to say it. She kept walking, ignoring everything else around her as she marched back towards the car.

 

[Poprockz]

While his face was shocked from what Vin was saying, it wasn't until he mentioned the water that his face truly paled and he looked as though a horrific realization had clicked for him. He had heard it, the splashing from Damien's room. He had been up at night and had chanced upon the mysterious sound. It had put a pit of dread in his stomach, but he hadn't gone in, nor had he seen anything. But... There was no mistaking that the sounds of water were the sounds of thrashing and that he thought he had heard Damien's father in there as well. He was a young teen at the time, and he could have gone in to help, he really should have. The fact of the matter was that he hadn't because he was scared. He was afraid of what would happen...

The dog was before his time, and no one had spoken about that, but they didn't really need to. It was obvious that Margaret was a venomous snake, always slithering around and being a covertly awful person. There were other tales of things she had done to Damen, things that the staff whispered about behind closed doors. The part about him being whored out though... He never knew about that. All he knew was that Margaret and Damien seemed to go out together for the evenings quite frequently, despite their less-than-stellar relationship.

"But that being said...I don't know if it's forgivable. He took more than just Cora. He took other women too."

There was a moment's pause as that sentence was absorbed. However, when he looked up, Sabastian's eye seemed to glow with an anger that couldn't be contained in his short-statured body. Without speaking a word, he turned from Vin and stomped away, his teeth gritted and his posture tense. When he finally reached the car, Damien was sleeping, completely unaware of the incarnation of wrath headed his way.

It was so fast: Sabastian whipped the door open and a purple tentacle darted into the car to wrap around Damien's waist and yank him out, lifting him up into the air before pulling him to the side and all but slamming the man back against the side of the car.

During this, Damien was wide-eyed and surprised to say the least, having no idea why Sabastian was violently awakening him from his slumber. For a moment, he had thought it might be Quint, but he quickly recognized that blonde hair and mis-matched set of eyes before he made contact with the car. The pain was so intense when his burn hit the metal that he couldn't help but let out a cry of pain, his eyes watering as his hands scrabbled against the car while his feet found purchase on the ground. The burn cracked slightly, blood dripping down his back, though he didn't really notice at that point.

"S-Sabastian, what are you-"

"Shut up! You shut your fucking mouth!" Sabastian hissed, his fiery eyes glaring at Damien. "I knew about Cora but I was willing to overlook it because I thought it was a one-time lapse in judgement from a fucked-up childhood and she begged me, told me that you weren't a total piece of shit. But now I'm told that you took fucking more than one? How many, Damien? How many?!" Another tentacle wrapped around his neck and pulled him forward slightly before shoving him back against the car, resulting in another cry of pain from the Steely-eyed man.

"What do you think women are, potato chips? Bet you can't have just one, right?! You think that just because you had fucked-up shit happen to you, you can spread that misery to other people? Are you that fucking selfish you pathetic asshole?!"

Tears streamed down Damien's face, not only from the excruciating pain of having his burn being slammed and pressed against the car, but also from the shame. What could he say back to that? He had been exceedingly selfish, unforgivably so. He knew that as long as he lived, he would forever bear the weight of his actions, a ball and chain on his ankle made up of all his misdeeds. The man opened his mouth and his jaw trembled, not able to summon up any words before Sabastian continued.

"Well? You think crying is going to make it all better? You think you can undo the trauma of god knows how many women from the power of your tears? You can't take that shit back, Damien!" The tentacles on his hips and throat tightened slightly and Damien was now struggling a bit, his throat being constricted but not completely closed off.

At this point, Sabastian was really worked up, but though he was yelling he had his own tears in the corners of his eyes. There was a deep pain there, a betrayal and disappointment. It felt like the man in front of him was someone he didn't know anymore, and he didn't know how to move past it. All he could really recognize at the forefront was his own anger, the blonde unable to restrain himself from directing that anger at Damien.

"Goddamnit, aren't you even going to defend yourself? Tell us about how your tragic past made you do those things? Do you have any right to look Cora in the fucking eye?! Where's your fucking shame, asswipe?!" With that, he slammed Damien back against the car yet again, the other man breathing hard as his eyes fixed up that livid face of Sabastian's.

He didn't have any right. He knew that, and yet she was everything to him. Damien was constantly aware of how when Cora looked at him, she saw the same face that had looked down on her that first night in the cabin. What could he say?

There were stars coming into his vision and he was starting to lose focus, his eyes now looking more past Sabastian than actually at him.

-----------------------------------------------------------

When Cora turned around with eyes blazing, aggressively moving toward her, Sayori actually took a step or two back out of intimidation. She looked absolutely incensed, the woman clearly finding fault with what Sayori had said, though she didn't yet know why she would be so triggered by it. She would soon find out though.

"That was not my secret to share, but since you already went and dug it up, I'll give you the other pieces of the puzzle, because all you see Sayori is a broken shard stained with blood from your own wound. When you went digging for that information, did you ever find any information on the little girl that was also his friend? No, I bet you didn't because nothing was ever done to her. And nothing was ever done to her because Damien's parents gave him a choice"

Confusion came from Sayori as she hesitantly murmured, "little girl...?" There was no little girl mentioned in any of the articles she had read, nor had she been able to dig up any rumors about anyone other than Toby and Damien himself. What was Cora saying about a choice though, and what did it have to do with Damien?

"He could either kill his best friend-or kill that little girl. And if he didn't choose, then both of them would die."

In that silence afterwards, Sayori stood rooted to the spot, staring at Cora. She was struggling with this information, unsure of whether it was something Damien had manufactured for Cora, or whether it was the truth. While a dark part of her wanted to believe that Damien was scum and capable of murder most foul, her gut was telling her that what Cora was saying was what really happened. Even when she had been cold or angry with Damien, he had never hurt her nor threatened to do so. The threat of "ruining her life" was more of a threat regarding likely losing her job or punishing her in some other way.

"So he chose.. He chose, the lesser of two evils. He chose one life over two. And he chose that when he himself was nothing but an innocent child, caught in a disgusting!...disgusting game... So yes, I do trust him. I trust that he isn't evil, and that he does not want to be a monster. And I trust that, had anyone ever stepped in to save him before it was too late, he might have had a chance. But no one ever did....You know it's a goddamn miracle he didn't turn out like Niles, with how both of his parent's were."

The petite woman stood rooted to the spot for a moment, watching Cora's back as she stomped away. She was in a bit of shock herself, unsure of how she felt right now. On one hand, the story was indeed cruel and wrong, and it truly did seem like Damien wasn't particularly violent. However, it didn't excuse what he had done to any of those women, including herself. She would never forget how he manipulated her, tricked her into trusting him only to be taken advantage of. Maybe part of her was projecting onto Cora, hoping to save her from that crushing pain of realizing that someone you had deemed worthy of trust was willing to double-cross at the most convenient time. Damien had probably felt refreshed after his weekend with Sayori, but Sayori had felt broken at the time, unable to understand how something so horrible could have happened to her.

Her head turned slowly and she looked at Quint before looking away, a few tears coming down her face before she wiped them away. Not a word was spoken before she started to follow Cora, the woman knowing that the conversation was over for now.

 

[Drobabes]

Vin was definitely not the type to really shrink away from other peoples anger, but there was certainly a first for everything. The way that Sabastian's eye seemed to almost glow in the pale moonlight had him swallowing hard, and the next thing he knew, he was simply following after his lover like a scared house wife. He didn't know what Sabastian was going to do, and he didn't know what he could do to stop him.

When Damien was yanked out of the car, Vin felt that familiar fear creeping up on him again. He didn't truly understand, still, but he just didn't want him to be killed, and much like when that shed was burning down, he found himself jumping to his aid again.

"Jesus! Sabastian!" he said, his voice shaking as he ran forward. Though when he got close to them, he could only stop and stand there with his hands outstretched in a pleading manner. What was he going to say to him? 'Calm down, he doesn't deserve it?' He couldn't say that.

...

Quint was just as shocked, perhaps even more so in some ways, than Sayori. He didn't know what to say to any of it, though the scathing, daring look that his sister shot him with that last sentence made him flinch. There was nothing he could say to her now, knowing that, and finally understanding a bit of why she was so adamant that she wasn't wrong.

But above all that, and deep below everything he felt himself, he was scared. She had looked at him with such confidence when she told him he wouldn't be the only one breaking promises, that there was no way he couldn't believe her. Whatever he felt on the matter, now, didn't matter because he knew she would go through with it. If Damien ever betrayed her-she would kill herself. And he knew she could do it because she had every intention of doing it before, and when someone wanted to die...there was simply no stopping them.

When she turned to walk away, he met Sayori's gaze with tear filled eyes, his face screwed up with pain. If he were a more prideful man, he might have been angry that he simply lost their little fight, but he wasn't. He was just scared.

He followed them back, his gait not nearly as confident or angry as it had been before. Though when they were almost to the car and he heard his sister scream out Sabastian's name, a shot of adrenaline went kicking through him. Until that moment, he hadn't been paying any attention to their link. He had been too focused on Cora.

He ran forward, coming onto the scene just as he saw his sister run up to Sabastian and force herself between the two men.

"Sabastian, what are you doing?! Stop! Please stop!"

She was crying, her eyes wide with fear, but he doubted that was going to be enough to stop the little blond if he really wanted to fuck Damien up. And yet, Quint knew he was much, much stronger than himself. It hadn't taken hardly any effort at all for Quint to snap both Niles legs like twigs, so the fact that they weren't hearing any disgusting cracking or popping noises meant that Sabastian was holding back.

He walked forward, quickly, and put his hand on his friends shoulder. And, not for Damien's sake, but for his sisters, let some of his own fear come through their link.

"Don't kill him Sabastian" he said calmly.

"He's not worth that."

Cora will hurt herself if you do, so please don't kill him. I'm not asking you to leave him be, just don't kill him. Please.

 

[Poprockz]

Sabastian hadn't heard Vin's exclamation at the beginning, too angry at Damien for it to be at the forefront of his attention, especially since nothing more was said to him. However, when he heard that scream from the treeline, he looked over and saw Cora running to them, Quint and Sayori quickly catching up and coming onto the scene as well. Before he knew it, Cora was trying to put herself between him and Damien (his own tentacles still firmly around the man's waist and throat), and Quint had come up to try to stop him as well.

When he looked at Cora, he couldn't help but feel betrayed and lied to. When they had been back at the prison and Damien had been imprisoned, Sabastian had allowed a man to defile him in the hopes that he could free Damien and get the group out of there. Granted, he also did it for Cora, but it sickened him that he had done such a thing for someone like him. True, Damien had done some sick shit and that made him fucking furious and disgusted, but he also felt extremely hurt from being left in the dark.

He felt the fear through the link, though Quint's tone didn't indicate any such feelings. That contradiction pissed him off, and he wasn't sure why, but that calmness was infuriating, almost condescending even. One of his tentacles came out and smacked Quint's hand so that he let go of him, not hard enough to hurt him but definitely with enough whip to smart his knuckles.

Those sharp eyes turned to Quint and he simply glared at him for a moment, going back down to Cora and finally... resting on Vin. It was only when he saw Vin's expression that the anger on his face changed more to a look of pain. Looking down, tears started coming down his cheeks; he didn't want to give any credence to what Kuznet had said. He wasn't a monster, and he certainly didn't ever want Vin to look at him with fear in his eyes. What was he even doing? It wasn't like beating the bajesus out of Damien was going to change anything, nor would it probably make him feel any better.

After a moment of silence, Sabastian turned back to Cora and said in a quiet voice, "it's convenient that you left out the fact that you weren't the only one when you made me promise to protect him, even after you survived and all the shit we went through. Were you ever going to tell me? Am I..." The man's voice broke and he stepped back from her. "Am I a fucking joke to you?"

He let Damien go, his tentacles unraveling and causing Damien to slide down the side of the car, smearing blood in his wake.

Damien himself didn't feel like he had much strength in his legs at the moment, trying to get some air back in his lungs and trying to breathe through the pain of feeling like his back was on fire. Everyone knew now, the secret was out in the open. It was frightening, knowing that beside the fear of losing Cora, this was what he feared most. It would have been less painful if had found a way to keep Vin and Sabastian from becoming dear to him, but as it was there was nothing he could do to ease the pain of losing then. While they hadn't left yet, he had no doubt in his mind that by tomorrow they would leave and he would never see them again.

 

[Drobabes]

That smack to his knuckles made the message loud and clear; Quint soon letting his hand drop down to his side after he flinched a bit from the slight sting. He could feel the anger radiating from Sabastian, now that he was focused on their link again, but he could also feel the pain. He didn't say or do anything when he turned to him with that glare, only stared back for a moment before he turned his eyes down. When Sabastian started talking to Cora, he knew the worst of it was over and it was probably time to give them a minute. Maybe he could get through to her where he couldn't.

Turning to Sayori, he gave her a somber look and put his hand on her shoulder, tugging on her gently as he led them a ways away to sit down. There was nothing more for them to do right now.

"it's convenient that you left out the fact that you weren't the only one..."

She took a step back, her face betraying her shock and pain as his words stung her so deeply. She hadn't meant to lie to him, nor had she meant to hide it from him. She simply hadn't thought to tell him, it having been so difficult of a secret to tell about herself in the first place that it had taken her almost dieing to do so. She just hadn't been thinking...but she should have.

"Were you ever going to tell me? Am I...Am I a fucking joke to you?"

"Sabastian, no I d-didn't..."

Her voice broke, catching in her throat as she let out a sob. What had she done? Sure, it may have been Sabastian's choice to protect Damien if she had died, but he was right in that she had asked him to while only giving him a limited amount of information. His choice had been made under a false pretense; an assumption that Damien as a person was not that bad. Had she given him the full story, he might have chosen otherwise. And though she certainly had not done it with that being the goal in mind, the fact of the matter was still that she had only been thinking about herself and her own selfish wants, and her want for her boyfriend not to kill himself. Intentions or not, she had manipulated Sabastian.

"I...I didn't mean to use you" she cried, taking another small step back.

What was she becoming? She had used her friend, she had allowed Damien to kill that preacher, who was arguably no worse than anyone else. No, not allowed, she had outright advocated for it. She was as much, if not more, responsible for someone's death. Because of her, Sayori had been taken and tortured, likely almost killed. Delvin had almost died because he was caught up in the game that surrounded her, and if she had stayed home that day, she might have been able to go to her brother and keep him out of Kuznet's claws as well. She could have been there while he was changing, and driven him back home, or at least somewhere else. Somewhere safe.

She was poison to everyone around her, and she didn't deserve his friendship.

"I'm sorry" she almost whispers, her expression slowly losing feeling as her eyes travel to the ground and her shoulders slump.

 

[Poprockz]

Sayori had simply been standing and watching the situation unfold. While she couldn't say that she pitied Damien, she did feel bad for Sabastian. It was obvious that his anger was born of the pain he felt, the man lashing out in an attempt to try to process it. The petite woman didn't have a dog in this fight, the group's history and cohesion not being anything she was familiar with, nor could she fix it. All she could really do was spectate and hope that it turned out okay for them.

That tug to her shoulder prompted her to look into his somber eyes, her own expression mirroring his. Without a word, she followed him away, knowing that to stay would simply lead to emotions becoming more charged and more futile arguments being made. No one could save Cora from herself if she didn't allow them to, but that very fact stung.

"Sabastian, no I d-didn't... I...I didn't mean to use you! ... I'm sorry"

Damien watched from below, his eyes noticing the way she was shutting down. He recognized it because it had happened to him with his own parents and himself, so many times. To be swallowed up by the darkness within oneself, ripped apart by self-loathing and the feeling that one was never going to be worthy. It was like all the voices in one's head that whispered constant criticism grew so loud that all there was was a scream of anguish within one's head, a blanket of soft, somber despair.

"If it wasn't for Cora, you wouldn't even be here." A voice said from hip-level. With a pained groan, Damien stood up and leaned against the car for support, his arms shaking slightly against the cool metal of the door. When he was balanced enough, those steely eyes of him looked sharply at Sabastian, a very serious expression on his face. He wasn't going to let Cora fall deeper into that pit, not if he was still there to reach in and remind her of the part of herself she wasn't able to see.

"You wanted to die when we found you, and you asked us to do it. Cora was the one who told you to get your shit together and live. It was Cora who looked after you when you were drunk at the concert, and it was Cora who helped comfort you when we thought Vin was dead. When you came back from the forest, Cora helped you clean yourself off, and it was her who convinced everyone not to give up on you when you left." An unsteady hand reached out and took Cora's, his grip becoming more firm and sure as he felt the warmth from her soft skin.

"So don't you fucking ask her if she thinks you're a joke. Obviously she cares about you a lot, and I think her good actions far outweigh the bad. Sure, she didn't tell you about... about my sins. But how do you explain something like that? How do you casually bring that up? Don't you know what it's like to feel to scared to say something important because it might change the way someone perceives you?" Though his voice was raised, he wasn't yelling at Sabastian, more trying to jar him into realizing that his blame was misplaced.

That last bit made Sabastian flinch, his immediate thoughts going to when he was keeping his own secret from Vin. He had been so afraid that the man would think he was disgusting or dangerous, even though it may not have been in Vin's character to do so. Only when Vin had literally had him up against a wall had he finally had his secret exposed. Had Vin not done so, he could only speculate as to when he would have given up that information willingly.

Deep down he knew Cora cared, he knew that. But it felt like such a sucker-punch to feel like she trusted him when in actuality she hadn't trusted him with a major piece of information considering the circumstances. He had thought they were close, that they were members of the midnight club, and that she had even trusted him insofar as to give him a little bit of the info about Damien. He wasn't sure what he would have done if she told him in the past, but he knew that no matter how deprived Damien was, he wanted to support Cora as a friend.

"Just-" Sabastian sighed in frustration and crossed his arms. "Let's talk about this in the morning. I can't- I just can't fucking get myself in a headspace to be able to talk more about this right now."

 

[Drobabes]

"If it wasn't for Cora, you wouldn't even be here."

Quint had almost reached one of the benches for them to sit down on, so he used it as an excuse to turn around and look as they took a seat. In all honesty, though, he was curious of what was being said and just within ear shot to hear it.

"So don't you fucking ask her if she thinks you're a joke....Sure, she didn't tell you about... about my sins. But how do you explain something like that? How do you casually bring that up?"

That warm hand taking her own did help to ground her, and although it wasn't too little, it may have been too late. The seeds of self loathing had been planted long ago, and though she hadn't been watering the plant as of late, it certainly wasn't dead just yet.

She turned her face away, her hand limp in his own as she let her hair fall over her shoulder and she tried to hide her expression from them a bit. Much like Damien, it was difficult for her to see the truth or value in what he was saying. After all, why did the good matter when it didn't change the outcome? Was was her intentions worth if all that ever happened was catastrophe?

While Damien defended his lover, Vin couldn't help but look down sadly at his own. He hadn't known that Sabastian had wanted to die before, nor had he known about him being so tore up after the base explosion. It seemed obvious now, but it just went to show that they had a lot they needed to talk about, and everyone had a lot to process.

Walking forward, he gently laid a hand on the blonds shoulder and one on his waist.

"Yea, I think that's enough for one night. We all need a break, and to process..."

He started to lead them away, hoping Sabastian would just come with him and let Vin comfort him, but before he turned himself, he looked up at Damien with sad, but grateful eyes. They definitely weren't on stable ground between themselves, either, but he still appreciated what he had said and how he had calmed Sabastian down by sticking up for Cora.